1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to clothes hangers, and more particularly to environmentally friendly hanger constructions that include a paperboard body with a first and a second panel, at least one central tab extended from a peripheral edge of one of the panels, and a polymeric hook secured the paperboard body using the central tab.
2. Background of the Related Art
Numerous hangers have been developed as alternatives to conventional metal and plastic hangers. U.S. Pat. No. 5,868,289 discloses a folded paperboard hanger that includes a slant plate part 1 having two slant portions, and a connecting plate part 2 that is connected to the ends of the slant portions, so as to form an isosceles triangular structure. A hanging plate part 3 is integrally formed with the slant plate part for hanging the hanger and a reinforcement plate part 4 extends at a 90-degree angle from either the slant plate part 1 or the connecting plate part 2, so as to stiffen the hanger.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,027,945 discloses a merchandise support assembly that includes a paperboard blank 10 having first, second, third, fourth, and fifth portions 12, 14, 16, 18, and 26, respectively, folded at crease lines 20, 22, 24, and 28. The second portion 14 is folded at the crease line 20, so that it overlies part of the first portion 12 to which it is secured by adhesive. Folding at crease lines 20, 22 forms a pocket between the second and fourth portions 14, 18 that are spaced apart by the width of the third portion 16. A hook 40, which is made from a stiff flexible plastic material, includes a hook member 42 and flexible resilient support arms 46 inserted through an opening 38 adjacent a fourth crease line 28 at the junction of the first and fifth portions 12, 26. The arms 46 engage the sheet material along crease line 28 to support the folded blank 10.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0031825A1 discloses a garment hanger that includes two parts or elements 2, 2′ that are hinged together so that they can be folded from a first relatively flat or opened out configuration to a second configuration in which the two parts or elements are adjacent and facing each other. At least one of the parts including first means 15, a hook, by which the hanger can depend from a support when in its second configuration. The two parts provide a second means 12, shoulders, from which a garment can be hung. The two parts or elements are preferably of a flexible stiff sheet material, such as a corrugated material, e.g. corrugated cardboard.
The hanger designs discussed above pose several disadvantages. Hangers that are manufactured entirely from paper do not provide enough support to become acceptable substitutes especially in retail markets. Once a weak spot is formed in the hook portion of an all paper hanger, structural failure quickly results no matter how reinforced the paper. Further, all paper construction cannot be used with standard dry cleaning equipment because the hangers will tear or shred.
Moreover, previous hanger designs that utilize separate non-paper hooks often have weak attachment mechanisms. For example, the cantilevered support arms of the hook in U.S. Pat. No. 5,027,945 are simply manipulated into place between the paperboard layers of the hanger. No adhesive is used to secure the support arms of the hook within the paperboard hanger body. Designs, which rely on the flexural strength of the hook support arms or use a paper hook cannot support heavy garments.
Billions of hangers are discarded each year. Only 15% of hangers are typically recycled with most going into landfills. Thus, there is a need for an environmentally friendly, easy-to-use, and structurally sound hanger that can be manufactured quickly and at an acceptably low cost.